Vayishlach | Gen 33-36

Vayishlach  (וַיִּשְׁלַח — Hebrew for “and he sent,” the first word of the parashah) is the eighth weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 32:4–36:43. The parashah has the most verses of any weekly Torah portion in the book of Genesis (but not the most letters or words), and is made up of 7,458 Hebrew letters, 1,976 Hebrew words, and 153 verses, and can occupy about 237 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, Sefer Torah). (In the book of Genesis, Parashah Miketz has the most letters, Parashah Vayeira has the most words, and Parashah Noach has an equal number of verses as Parashah Vayishlach.) Jews read it the eighth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in late November or December.

In the parashah, Jacob reconciles with Esau after wrestling with a “man,” the prince Shechem rapes Dinah and her brothers sack the city of Shechem in revenge, and in the family’s subsequent flight Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies in childbirth.